In This Issue:
1. Health Care Victory for Veterans
2. VFW Testifies on Bills
3. House VA Subcommittee Hearings
1. Health Care Victory for Veterans: Key House leaders have agreed to offer an amendment that will put to rest any concerns that VA health care will change under the nation health care reform debate. VFW has been in talks with House VA Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) and Ranking Member Steve Buyer (R-IN) on this important issue. The amendment being offered will ensure that veterans enrolled in VA are automatically deemed as having qualified health care coverage, and also allow veterans using VA health care to purchase other types of insurance through the health insurance exchanges. VFW will continue to monitor health care reform legislation in the House and Senate.
2. VFW Testifies on Bills: VFW testified before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity on a number of bills designed to expand VA's work-study, vocational rehabilitation, small business programs, and employment, to include job training and apprenticeship expansion. VFW stressed the importance of helping disabled veteran-owned small businesses through the awarding of government contracts from Federal stimulus funding, and that those contracts adhere to the 3% set-aside. VFW also discussed several bills that would improve small business programs, amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and improve upon last year Post 9/11 GI Bill. To read VFW testimony, visit the House VA Committee website at
http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?newsid=474.
3. House VA Subcommittee Hearings:
* Tuesday: The Subcommittee on Health held a hearing to review VA's national formulary and the management of the pharmacy program. In FY 2008, VA spent $3.7 billion on approximately 126 million prescriptions dispensed at VHA facilities and through their consolidated mail outpatient pharmacies. Representatives from the VA Inspector General's office testified on their report of recent audits of VA pharmacy inventory, which looked at administrative management of non-controlled drugs. Non-controlled drugs are 95% of VA's pharmaceutical spending. Other issues discussed included pharmacy benefits and VA's restrictive formulary, when compared to Medicare and DOD's Tricare listings.
* Wednesday: The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on Senior Executive Bonuses issued at VA. Recent reports by the media and VA's own Inspector General have suggested that bonuses were not appropriately awarded or given proper administrative review. Members of the committee restated their opposition to bonuses given to VBA employees when the backlog remains at critical numbers. In questioning, VA Deputy Secretary Scott Gould said Performance Review Board standards need to be tightened and the award of bonuses needs to be tied to organizational goals, but he reminded the committee that not every senior executive within VBA is tied to the claims backlog. He specifically mentioned VBA's home loan and insurance programs as outstanding success stories. Other discussion topics included unfair hiring practices and the award review process among VA managers.
* Thursday: The Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs discussed the VA national cemetery system. Currently VA maintains more than 2.9 million gravesites at 125 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico. Representatives from the VSO community, VA , AFGE, American Battle Monuments Commission, Arlington National Cemetery and the National Park Service all testified to present and future needs of veterans and their families with regard to national cemeteries here and abroad.
For more on this week's hearings, visit the House VA website at
http://veterans.house.gov/.
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